7-year-old Running Twins Complete 100k Challenge

On Saturday 22nd September, 7-year-old twins Ruben and Elena Evans-Guillen officially completed the final leg of their 100k running challenge to raise money for an outdoor children’s play area at our Warrington site.

The twins, from Padgate, originally started running last year as a way to combat their ADHD and when the children’s father, Mark Evans, learned of the appeal, he thought it would be a great idea to combine the two and do something that not only benefitted the twins, but also the local community.

Since the beginning of the year, they have taken part in an astonishing 43 running events, ranging from fun runs to obstacle courses, which have taken place around the UK and even overseas in their most recent event, ‘EuroDisney: Run to the Magic’, at Disneyland Paris.

Mark quoted:-

“We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks for everyone who has supported us on this incredible journey; we have been truly humbled by the amount of donations we have received from our family, friends, WHH staff and corporate partners. In essence the 100Km challenge was created in the spirit of it being a momentous challenge that was very befitting of the venture. The Core values of the project have always been about, kids helping kids and really trying to do something positive for the community which is why I believe it really resonated with so many people. We truly hope and feel Ruben and Elena’s legacy from Running4DrOzzy can inspire others across the town to take up a physical exercise, or even perhaps a charity activity to help out in their community”

To date, the twins have raised a staggering total of £8,000 (and still rising), every penny of which will be going towards our Making Waves appeal.

This new area will include things such as interactive games, all weather flooring, teenage area, covered area and wheelchair access to give bed-ridden patients the opportunity to join in and have fun beyond the four walls of the ward. National research has shown that providing poorly children with the opportunity to interact and play with others aids recovery.

We are over 70% of the way to hitting our £100,000 target and phase one of construction is underway, which involves installing the bright and colourful all-weather flooring.

However, we still need support from the public to make our dreams of having a safe and fun play area for young patients a reality.

Helen Higginson, Head of Fundraising at WHH Charity, expressed her immense gratitude to the family: “We have been incredibly fortunate to have had such amazing support throughout this campaign; from inspirational community events to residents fundraising specifically aimed to the cause, the response has been overwhelming. However, when our two young 7-year-old ambassadors Ruben & Elena – along with the amazing support from mum and dad, Mercedes & Mark – chose our Making Waves campaign, it really did mark the beginning of a journey that nobody could have ever imagined.

Their story has reached far and wide through their varied running schedule, with acknowledgements from sports stars, rugby clubs, and businesses from all over the country. Ruben and Elena have even had the pleasure of meeting royalty in the form of Princess Anne, which is simply amazing. WHH Charity wishes to thank everyone, and especially the twins, for their support in reaching phase one; the question now is: how quickly can we reach phase two?’